Beijing
The international cocktail spine. Skybars, speakeasies, and the densest concentration of serious bar programmes in northern China. Walk between everything in twenty minutes. Save this neighbourhood guide before your next night in Beijing.
Sanlitun · $$$
Beijing's most awarded cocktail bar.
Sanlitun · $$$$
Japanese-style cocktail bar in a hidden upstairs room.
Sanlitun · $$
Tiki bar that takes the genre seriously.
Sanlitun · $$$
Cocktail bar inside the Opposite House hotel.
You'll find Cocktail Bars, Craft Beer and Hidden Gems here, all tightly clustered enough to walk between in a single evening. That's the value of a neighbourhood guide: pick a starting room, end up four bars in, and never get in a cab. Every recommendation below is independent — barsforKings doesn't take payment for editorial placement, ever.
The order below is a working ranking, not gospel. Read the notes, pick the room that fits the night you're planning, and treat Sanlitun like locals do — start early, walk between rooms, end somewhere quieter than you started.
A working editorial ranking. Walkable in a single evening — pick your starting room and let the neighbourhood do the rest.